Ask Hilary: where can I find shoes like the Duchess of Cambridge

Please help me find a pair of nude-coloured heeled shoes like those worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

BY Hilary Alexander |
26 September 2011

Van dal shoes

Van Dal shoes

Maristota peep-toe

Dear Hilary,
I would dearly like a pair of nude, heeled shoes like those worn by the Duchess of Cambridge and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The problem is, I am 5'10" tall, and have a very deformed left foot, the result of having two toes amputated through diabetes. I can wear fashion shoes as long as they are a EE or preferably a EEE fitting, and they must be leather, not composition uppers. I have searched many websites for a simple pair of nude leather court shoes with either a kitten heel or one no higher than 2.5" in an EE or EEE fitting, and all I can find is "old lady" shoes. Can you help me track down what I want, please?
Jill, London

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Dear Jill,
There is not a lot of choice, I agree. But I have tracked down some "similar" styles which, hopefully, will tick the right boxes.

They are not excactly nude, but extremely pale, and in either an EE or EEE fitting. Van Dal
vandalshoes.com
; has a style called '
Nicolet
', in beige, which has a 50mm heel height, and costs £75, and "
Winona
", with a 45mm heel height, at £65. Both are in sizes 3-8, including half sizes.

Marisota
marisota.co.uk
, has a pale cream peep-toe,in an EEE fitting, by
Viva La Diva
, sizes 4-9, although with a price-tag of £20, I suspect the uppers may not be leather.

Alternatively,if your budget can stretch, Upper Street, which has a studio in Highbury, North London,
upperstreet.com
make bespoke shoes, and a pair of classic nude leather courts, as you describe, in an EEE width, would cost £230 (non-platform), and £265 (with platform).